Camillus man has two crossbow success stories this past hunting season

Somebody actually did get a deer with a crossbow in Central New York in the fall.

Ken Clark, of Camillus, gave me a call this week following last Sunday’s column in which I quoted a DEC spokeswoman who said preliminary figures showed less than “one quarter of one percent” of deer taken this past hunting season across the state were shot with a crossbow.

Clark told me he harvested two does this fall with his crossbow — one during the regular firearms season, the other during the late muzzleloading season.

“And that’s after getting another doe in the regular bowhunting season with my compound bow,” he said. All three deer were shot on private property in the town of Camillus.

Clark, 66, said he bought the crossbow “as a gift to myself.” He said he paid about $800 for the weapon, along with buying the special arrows (called bolts) and a special practice target “because the bolts blew right through my 3-D deer target.”

“I ended up spending a total of about $1,100. I sure hope they continue allowing crossbows after this year,” he said, referring to the Dec. 31 sunset clause on the legislation that allows crossbows to be used to hunt deer or bear.

Clark said he’s a diehard bow hunter who gave up on gun hunting about 10 years ago. He said he’s a Vietnam veteran and doesn’t like the noise.

He said two seasons ago he was in a treestand on a particularly cold day during the regular bow hunting season. “As a tried to draw the bow back, I hurt my shoulder. ... I felt something tear.”

This fall, following months of rehab and light weight-lifting, he was finally able to pull back on his compound bow, although he had to reduce the bow’s draw weight.

He said he took both deer with his crossbow at close range. He shot one during the regular firearms season at about 15 yards and the other during the muzzleloading season at about four yards.

“She practically walked right on top of me,” he said.

Given a choice between the two types of bows, Clark said he prefers his compound.

“It makes me feel like I’m an Indian, or a Robin Hood,” he said, adding that he enjoys being able to see the arrow leave his bow and travel through the air toward the deer. The crossbow bolt, he says, goes too fast to see.

However, he conceded that if his shoulder goes out again, his only hunting option would be a crossbow, assuming that new legislation is passed to make their use permanent.

Asked about what changes he’d like to see concerning crossbow use, he said he would still limit their use for most hunters to the regular firearms and late muzzleloading seasons. But he would make an exception for disabled hunters or seniors (66 and older) during the regular bowhunting season.